vent French · revision 16478

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis|origins=ine-pro *h₂weh₁-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (France): /vɑ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Canada): /vã/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vent''' ''m'' (plural vents)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|ventus|t=wind; flatulence; fortune; current of opinion]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|14, 255a) Wiktionary traces it through [[itc-pro|*wentos]] to [[ine-pro|*h₂wéh₁n̥ts]], from [[ine-pro|*h₂weh₁-|t=to blow]].^(Wiktionary) Rey places it in a family with [[cy|gwynt]] and [[got|𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌳𐍃|tr=winds]] (compare [[en|wind]] and [[de|Wind]]).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|vânt]], [[it|vento]], [[oc|vent]], [[ca|vent]], [[es|viento]] and [[pt|vento]].^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Its first sense, in the ''Life of Saint Alexis'' (about 1050), is the moving air that drives a ship at sea; the ''Chanson de Roland'' has ''Orez i ad de tuneire e de vent'' (“there is a storm of thunder and wind”).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Seafaring gave much of its phraseology: ''bon vent'' (1174–76), ''sous le vent'' (1376), ''avoir le vent en poupe'' “to be riding high” (1492), ''vent debout'' (1718).^(TLFi) In hunting it was the scent left by game (Chrétien de Troyes, 1176–81), whence ''ne savoir ne vent ne voie'' “to have no trace” of someone and ''avoir vent de'' “to get wind of”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Like Latin ''ventus'', it also meant flatulence, empty words (''du vent''), and the drift of fortune and opinion; in music, the wind instruments.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ''Quel bon vent vous amène?'' as a greeting is found in 1613, and ''bon vent!'' to see off a bore in 1909.^(BHVF) ''Dans le vent'' means “fashionable”.^(Wiktionary) In some regions ''le vent'' is the rain-bringing wind: the south wind in Franche-Comté and the Lyonnais, the west wind in Lorraine.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – The wind at sea, ''Life of Saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1155 – ''Aval vent'' “downwind”, Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * 1176–81 – The scent of game, Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * 1492 – ''Avoir le vent en poupe''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1613 – ''Quel bon vent vous amène?''^(BHVF)

+ * 1718 – ''Vent debout'', in the Académie dictionary.^(TLFi)

+ * 1909 – ''Bon vent!'' to see someone off.^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|wind]], moving air: ''le vent du nord'', ''un coup de vent'', ''il fait du vent''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A trend, influence: ''le vent de la révolte'', ''dans le vent'', fashionable.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Empty words, [[m|en|hot air]]: ''c'est du vent''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(euphemistic)'' [[m|en|flatulence|alt=Flatulence]], wind.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(hunting)'' The scent of game, ''avoir vent de'', to get wind of.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(music)'' ''Instrument à vent'': a wind instrument, ''les vents'', the wind section.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ventail]]

+ * [[venter]]

+ * [[éventer]]

+ * [[éventail]]

+ * [[contrevent]]

+ * [[venteux]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ventilateur]]

+ * [[ventôse]]

+ * [[ventiler]]

+ * [[paravent]]

+ * [[la|ventus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}